MALLIKA THOMAS
Princeton University sites.google.com/site/ mallikathomas
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS______Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section, Visiting Assistant Professor 2018-2019
Cornell University, Department of Economics, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Assistant Professor, 2015-present
EDUCATION______University of Chicago, Chicago, IL Ph.D. Economics, June 2015 Fields of Specialization: Labor Economics, Personnel Economics, Information Economics, Economics of the Family
Yale University, New Haven, CT B.S. Physics, May 2007, Distinction in the Major B.A. Economics, May 2007, Distinction in the Major Thesis in Economics: “In Women’s Hands: A Game-Theoretic Analysis of Gender-Wage Inequality”
WORKING PAPERS______“The Impact of Mandated Maternity Benefits on the Gender Difference in Promotions: Examining the Role of Adverse Selection”
“Effects of Peer Groups on the Gender-Wage Gap and Life After the MBA: Evidence from the Random Assignment of MBA Peers”
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS______“Explaining the College Gender Gap: Early Versus Late- Life Investments and the Career Choices of Women”
“Outsourcing Domestic Labor: On-the-Job Training and the Gender Gap in Higher Educational Attainment” with Patricia Cortes
“Inefficiency Revealed: Group-Specific Mandates and the Impact of Employer-Provided Maternity Benefits on the Employment, Wages and Labor Supply of Women”
“The Effects of Mandated Maternity Benefits on Female Labor Supply, Occupational Choice, and Human Capital Accumulation: A Quality-Quantity Tradeoff” “The Gender Pay Gap and the Responsiveness of Women's Early Career Choices to Information About Ability”
“Whom Do Firms Interview and Why? Theory and Evidence on Many-to-One Matching in the Presence of Search Costs”
“The Value of a Job Interview: Estimates from a Regression Discontinuity Design” with Alexandre Mas
“Valuing Non-Pecuniary Job Attributes” with Alexandre Mas
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS______
Faculty Affiliate, Center for the Study of Inequality, Cornell University, 2016-present Faculty Affiliate, Cornell Population Center, 2015-present Faculty Affiliate, Institute on Health Economics, Health Behaviors and Disparities, 2015-present
HONORS AND AWARDS______
Bruno-Shayegani Family Faculty Fellowship, 2017-present Cornell Institute for Social Sciences, $6,000, Individual Award, 2016-2018 American Economic Assn Dissertation Fellowship, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 2014 George Stigler Dissertation Fellowship, University of Chicago, 2014-2015 Division of the Social Sciences Summer Fellowship, University of Chicago, 2014 University of Chicago Presidential Fellowship, 2009-2014 University of Chicago Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality Research Grant, 2013-2014 Yale University Scholarship, 2003-2007
RESEARCH VISITS______
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute for Research on Poverty, December 2015
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES______
Conferences and Invited Seminars: UCLA Anderson School of Management, Western Economic Association Meetings, North American Meeting of the Econometric Society 2018
Boston College, Boston University, Washington University of St. Louis, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Society of Labor Economists Annual Meetings, Eastern Economic Association Meetings, Midwestern Economic Association Meetings, 2016
Northwestern University, University of Virginia, Cornell University – Economics Department, Cornell University – PAM, Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, The Brookings Institution, Brown University, The RAND Corporation, 2015
Applications of Economics Workshop, Lifecycle Dynamics Workshop, Economic Theory Workshop, University of Chicago, 2014
Family Economics Workshop, Lifecycle Dynamics Workshop, University of Chicago, 2013
Referee: Journal of Political Economy, 2013, 2015, 2016 (x2) Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2016, 2018 Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2018
Conference Panels and Discussions: Discussant, Eastern Economic Association, Washington DC, 2016 Discussant, Midwest Economic Association, Evanston, IL, 2016 Discussant, Western Economic Association International, Portland, OR, 2016
TEACHING______Economics of Wages and Employment, Cornell University, 2016, 2017, 2018 Seminar in Labor Economics II (PhD), Cornell University, 2017, 2018 Workshop for Labor Economics (PhD), Cornell University, 2016-2018 Junior Independent Work, Princeton University, 2018-2019 Guest Lecturer: Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences (Masters), Cornell University, “Understanding the Gender Gap in Promotions,” 2017 Non-Credit Instruction: Labor Work-in-Progress Seminar (PhD), Cornell University, 2015-present
SERVICE______Graduate Advising: Jorgen Harris, committee member, “Do Wages Fall when Women Enter an Occupation? New Evidence using an Instrumental Variables Approach,” 2015-present Caroline Walker, committee member, “The Effect of Criminal Sentencing on Safety Net Caseloads,” 2016-present Tung Dang, committee member, “Assessing the Peer Effects of International Students on U.S. STEM Majors”, 2017-present Miriam Larson-Koester, committee member, “Dynamics in Occupation Gender Segregation,” 2015-2018 Pamela Meyerhofer, committee member, “Estimating the Effects of Parental Involvement in Abortion Laws on Risky Sexual Behavior among Minors in the United States”, 2017-2018
Undergraduate Advising: Alden Aikins, Faculty Supervisor, ILR Credit Internship Program, Spring 2018
Organization: Labor Economics Seminar, Cornell University, Organizer, 2016-present Labor Work-in-Progress Workshop, Cornell University, Co-Founder, Faculty Organizer, 2015- present Graduate Labor Reading Group, Faculty Advisor, 2015-2018 Graduate Placement Committee, Cornell University, Member, 2015-2016 Recruiting Committee, Cornell University, Member, 2016-2017 Computing Committee, Cornell University, ILR, Member, 2017-2018
MEDIA COVERAGE______“When Family-Friendly Policies Backfire,” The New York Times, May 26, 2015. “How Family-Friendly Policies Can Hurt Women’s Careers,” Business Insider, May 28, 2015. “Family-Friendly Labor Policies Are Not Working. The Solution is Better Paternity Leave,” Quartz, May 27, 2015.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE______Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN, 2014, Dissertation Fellow Innovations for Poverty Action, Tamale, Ghana, 2010, Evaluation Consultant Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School, Center for International Development, Cambridge, MA, 2008-2009, Research Assistant Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington DC, 2007-2008, Research Assistant